Covid-19 & caving activities - DCA Update
- Thread starter DCA
- Start date
Mark Wright
Active member
Badlad said:
I went out on the motorbike this afternoon and did a tour of the Castleton catchment. I didn't see any cars parked in the usual caving spots but there were loads of people about. It looked like a normal Sunday to me.
There was a burger van in the Peak Hotel car park doing a roaring trade with the 100's of motorbikes on the road. The car park in Castleton was full of motorbikes and the garage at the Bamford cross roads was packed with bikers.
I saw a few climbers heading on to Burbage with mattresses on their backs.
There were no parking places anywhere on the road at Fox House or by Ladybower and all the car parks around Toads Mouth and Surprise View were full when I rode past.
Mark
pwhole
Well-known member
That's a big shame. Ironically I almost mentioned just the other day that one good thing about the lockdown would be the removal of the weekly slow-motion motorbike procession of doom through Castleton - and how the villagers may appreciate a little peace and quiet from the endless revving. They even used to ruin our day way up at Longcliffe with their infernal and somewhat pointless racket chugging up and down Winnats Pass for some reason or other. But no. The fat old leather boys must triumph. Cough. Equally, teenage lads have been all over the place today in Sheffield in defiant 'tight' groups, even in the woods - passing spliffs about of course. Cough. The best way to catch everything going round - even the clap. If anyone's still got that 
I had a long chat with a friend in France last night who said that most of the guys on the streets in her town are getting tense and nasty as they can't visit prostitutes any more, and are just mooching about making cat-calls and not really social distancing either. It's quite a 'normal' activity where she lives apparently - or it was. So she's staying in a lot, and wearing very baggy clothes when she goes out shopping to avoid any grief. Exercising is even worse as they've followed her, so she's not doing it much, or taking a shopping bag with her when she does. What a life.
But it seems to me that outside the hospital and care home environment, most people should now have little chance of catching the virus accidentally, as long as they observe social distancing. I would happily say 'tough shit' to the rest who catch it now - curl up and die - except they'll infect blameless people who are trying their best to avoid it - and no doubt more hospital staff who still try to save their lives, even though it was their own stupid fault they caught it.
As for the Peak District, I'm sure there must be places you could go if you could walk it - or catch the bus if you were allowed. Windy Knoll and Odin Cave spring to mind! I don't think the National Trust have closed their land to walkers. Though you could walk into Windy Knoll and find a bunch of students sharing a spliff. Jugholes? Isn't that a public footpath to the entrance? But it's a long way to go for an hour underground. I guess poking around in abandoned quarries might also just be acceptable, depending on the landowner.
I had a long chat with a friend in France last night who said that most of the guys on the streets in her town are getting tense and nasty as they can't visit prostitutes any more, and are just mooching about making cat-calls and not really social distancing either. It's quite a 'normal' activity where she lives apparently - or it was. So she's staying in a lot, and wearing very baggy clothes when she goes out shopping to avoid any grief. Exercising is even worse as they've followed her, so she's not doing it much, or taking a shopping bag with her when she does. What a life.
But it seems to me that outside the hospital and care home environment, most people should now have little chance of catching the virus accidentally, as long as they observe social distancing. I would happily say 'tough shit' to the rest who catch it now - curl up and die - except they'll infect blameless people who are trying their best to avoid it - and no doubt more hospital staff who still try to save their lives, even though it was their own stupid fault they caught it.
As for the Peak District, I'm sure there must be places you could go if you could walk it - or catch the bus if you were allowed. Windy Knoll and Odin Cave spring to mind! I don't think the National Trust have closed their land to walkers. Though you could walk into Windy Knoll and find a bunch of students sharing a spliff. Jugholes? Isn't that a public footpath to the entrance? But it's a long way to go for an hour underground. I guess poking around in abandoned quarries might also just be acceptable, depending on the landowner.
pwhole said:That's a big shame. Ironically I almost mentioned just the other day that one good thing about the lockdown would be the removal of the weekly slow-motion motorbike procession of doom through Castleton - and how the villagers may appreciate a little peace and quiet from the endless revving. They even used to ruin our day way up at Longcliffe with their infernal and somewhat pointless racket chugging up and down Winnats Pass for some reason or other. But no. The fat old leather boys must triumph. Cough. Equally, teenage lads have been all over the place today in Sheffield in defiant 'tight' groups, even in the woods - passing spliffs about of course. Cough. The best way to catch everything going round - even the clap. If anyone's still got that
I had a long chat with a friend in France last night who said that most of the guys on the streets in her town are getting tense and nasty as they can't visit prostitutes any more, and are just mooching about making cat-calls and not really social distancing either. It's quite a 'normal' activity where she lives apparently - or it was. So she's staying in a lot, and wearing very baggy clothes when she goes out shopping to avoid any grief. Exercising is even worse as they've followed her, so she's not doing it much, or taking a shopping bag with her when she does. What a life.
But it seems to me that outside the hospital and care home environment, most people should now have little chance of catching the virus accidentally, as long as they observe social distancing. I would happily say 'tough shit' to the rest who catch it now - curl up and die - except they'll infect blameless people who are trying their best to avoid it - and no doubt more hospital staff who still try to save their lives, even though it was their own stupid fault they caught it.
As for the Peak District, I'm sure there must be places you could go if you could walk it - or catch the bus if you were allowed. Windy Knoll and Odin Cave spring to mind! I don't think the National Trust have closed their land to walkers. Though you could walk into Windy Knoll and find a bunch of students sharing a spliff. Jugholes? Isn't that a public footpath to the entrance? But it's a long way to go for an hour underground. I guess poking around in abandoned quarries might also just be acceptable, depending on the landowner.
Do we have towns where the men mooch around looking for prostitutes and follow women? Sounds like Marseilles, it was always like that. Whatever.
The Devils Bridge biker gang was there on Sat, but they are a more refined class of biker gang as befits the location. Open road types with performance bikes and middle-aged suicide in their eyes. The burger van is closed, but a highly opportunistic ice-cream van was doing well. There will be blood at some point.
Pete K
Well-known member
DCA is only reporting on the sites that we have been contacted by the landowner about, and for all of those at the moment it is to say they are closed. We have not been specifically informed of any sites that are open for caving, but that does not mean that they are all closed. We are not currently cold-contacting landowners to ask if they are open for cavers. DCA have been asked by some cave/mine owners to put signage up to prevent cavers coming onto their land. The ice-cream vans may be welcoming visitors back, but the landowners are not yet at that stage.Badlad said:
The DCA's full guidance can been seen on the website here: https://thedca.org.uk/
The most up to date access situation will be on the Registry and our social media: https://registry.thedca.org.uk/registrysearch.php
Pete Knight
DCA Projects Officer.
al
Member
pwhole said:
Just remember that some of these "fat old leather boys" love caving as well!!
But thanks for this and the reference to bergers etc - brings back memories of other times, as well as JCC!!
You can dine and whine on stuff that's bound to give you boils
Hot dogs direct from cruft's
Done in diesel oil
Or the burger joint around the bend
Where the meals thank Christ are skimpy
For you that's how the world could end ...
Not with a bang but a Wimpy
pwhole
Well-known member
It's a small but famous tourist town in the Loire Valley. Apparently it's like this everywhere. She also told me she has a cave under her apartment block, that she used to play in as a kid. I'm going over as soon as I'm allowed.
I'm sure some of them do. I don't have a problem with motorcycles at all, or regular use of them. But processions of over 100 motorbikes travelling at 5mph up Arthur's Way in both directions doesn't primarily display a love of motorcycling to me. If they were silent, or even quiet I wouldn't mind as much as I do, but they're not - they're as loud as they can possibly be. And the volume of participants guarantees they can't travel at a normal speed. And everyone else can just wait. I have a similar problem here with local tykes blasting up and down my street in hot-rod turbo-injected Fiestas backfiring every five seconds, all day, every day. It's all about the noise. And the sense of entitlement.
My real concern here is the village - if we are all doing our bit to keep the place safe, and all the shops are shut to keep the place safe, then how can a burger van just rock up in the car park and start serving everyone? The only shops open are Peveril Stores and the Post Office. And folks start buying burgers from an unknown provenance? Shouldn't the Parish Council be assembling a group of angry men with pitchforks? And if not, why not?
Badlad said:
As Pete has said, some owners have asked cavers to stay away for the moment and there are quite a lot of sites where it is normal to call and ask for permission. Derbyshire doesn't have loads of caves on open moorland and, unlike the Dales, many of its caves are on private land (definitely not on CRoW access land) where owners are normally happy to see cavers and very willing to give permission. They just don't want strangers knocking on their doors for any reason at the moment. Local cavers will all know sites which will be accessible without bothering anyone or having to pass through a small village or directly past a farm.
Derbyshire has very few sites which require an actual key, as opposed to a "Derbyshire Key" (a large adjustable spanner), but these will currently be inaccessible anyway because there is no way cavers can collect a key. As Pete has indicated, local cavers want to stay on good terms with the local landowers so I'm sure Derbyshire cavers will comply with their wishes if they approach DCA and ask not to be bothered for the moment. Being reasonable now will no doubt reap its rewards when the lock-down ends.
Mark Wright
Active member
pwhole said:
mikem said:
Knowing Castleton reasonably well (I used to live there), I doubt very much that a burger van would get away with just 'rocking up' in the Peak Hotel car park without the necessary permissions from the pub, the villagers living opposite and the local authority.
Whats to say it wasn't the Peveril Store's mobile van helping their social distancing endeavours by not having loads of people in the shop?
Mark Wright
Active member
pwhole said:
I wasn't concerned in the slightest. I was just reporting what I'd seen while I was out on a motorbike ride in the Peaks.
alastairgott
Well-known member
Well I'm sure if they leave the burger van there, then someone will have something to say/do about it. Given the coin meters are all broken, I'm sure if the van's were seen as a nuisance then they would be dealt with for the greater good.
ttxela2
Active member
pwhole said:
Mine is electric and virtually silent, having suffered numerous near misses from vehicles pulling out in front of me, pedestrians stepping into the road etc. etc. I can see the case for them making at least some noticable noise. Unfortunately people equate silence with there being nothing there.....
pwhole
Well-known member
Indeed - I appreciate some noise is inevitable from a combustion engine and I don't have a problem with that. But exhaust systems have mufflers to reduce excessive noise, and these seem to absent from the bike 'processions' that go through Castleton. I don't ride, so I can't debate the finer details of bike engines, but seriously, there are times when we've been unable to talk properly inside the Chapel for over ten minutes whilst the mile-long procession crawls around the S-bend in the village at 5mph. It really is ridiculous.
A friend of mine rides a massive Triumph and a while ago offered me a ride on the back of it - to Castleton and back. I had to politely decline, citing a bad back or something
A friend of mine rides a massive Triumph and a while ago offered me a ride on the back of it - to Castleton and back. I had to politely decline, citing a bad back or something